Continuous positive airway pressure device and method

ABSTRACT

A continuous positive airway pressure system features a housing forming an airway chamber, and an air pressure inlet and an air pressure outlet. The housing further defines internally a pair of tapered air jets, and a pair of tapered air receivers. The air receivers are located downstream of the air supply jets and disposed coaxially with respective ones of the air supply jets. Each receiver has a taper in an opposite direction to the direction of the taper of the air supply jets. A pair of nasal prongs is located downstream of the air receiving jets. Each receiver comprises a hemispherical section that is oriented at an angle off the center line of the supply.

CLAIM FOR PRIORITY

The present application is a continuation-in-part of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/966,805, filed Dec. 28, 2007, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to pressure airway devices and methods for supplying pressurized air used in the field of respiratory therapy, and more particularly to devices and methods that provide positive airway pressure to the nasal cannula of a person or particularly an infant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of respiratory therapy it is known to provide a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) system and method for delivering continuous positive airway pressure, via the nasal cannula, to persons and particularly infants. This is particularly true in the case of prematurely born infants who frequently suffer with increased work of breathing due to immature lungs that have the propensity to collapse during exhalation and resist expansion during inhalation.

One particular method of treatment involves the use of nasal cannula that fits sealingly into the nares and are connected to a breathing system that generates a continuous flow of air with above atmospheric pressures, commonly referred to as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. The positive pressure is transmitted through the infant's airways and into the lungs thereby preventing collapse during exhalation and augmenting expansion during inhalation.

There are a wide variety of devices in use for CPAP. The CPAP devices often comprise what is referred to as a generator body, which is essentially a housing forming a chamber that receives air pressure from tubing. The generator body typically has an exhalation port for air to escape during the exhalation phase. Further, the generator body has a pair of nasal prongs which fit into the patient's nares to supply pressure into the nares.

It would be desirable to provide a CPAP device that has reduced size, improved performance, and/or other benefits with respect to the patient. Moreover, it is often desirable to be able to reduce the amount of pressure that needs to be supplied to a CPAP device, thereby simplifying the structure of the associated air pump, which may have benefits with respect to reduced size, energy consumption, sound, complexity and cost. Further, it is typically desirable to reduce the size and mass of the CPAP interface assembly which fits against the face. It may be desirable to have the head gear that attaches the CPAP device to be smaller, simpler and/or less cumbersome. It may also be advantageous to have such a device that facilitates handling of the patient by caretakers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments provide a CPAP device and method that has reduced size, improved performance, and/or other benefits with respect to the patient.

An aspect of the present invention in some embodiments involves a continuous positive airway pressure system, including a housing forming an airway chamber, and having an air pressure inlet and an air pressure outlet, and further defining internally a pair of tapered air jets, a pair of tapered air receivers each disposed coaxially with one of the air supply jets downstream of the air supply jets, and each having a taper in an opposite direction to the direction of taper of the air supply jets, and a pair of nasal prongs downstream of the air receivers. Each receiver includes a hemispherical section that is oriented at an angle off the center line of the supply.

Another aspect of the continuous positive airway pressure system in some embodiments includes means for defining an airway chamber, and having an air pressure inlet and an air pressure outlet, and further defining internally a pair of tapered air jets, a pair of tapered air receiving means, each disposed coaxially with one of the air supply jets downstream of the air supply jets, and each having a taper in an opposite direction to the direction of taper of the air supply jets, and a pair of nasal interacting means downstream of the receiving means. Each receiver includes a hemispherical section that is oriented at an angle off the center line of the supply.

A further aspect of the present invention in some embodiments provides a continuous positive airway pressure method, providing air pressure to a housing forming an airway chamber, and further defining internally a pair of tapered air jets, directing air from the air jets to a pair of tapered air receivers, each disposed coaxially with one of the air supply jets downstream of the air supply jets, and each having a taper in an opposite direction to the direction of taper of the air supply jets, and directing air from the air receivers to a pair of nasal prongs downstream of the air receivers. Each receiver includes a hemispherical section that is oriented at an angle off the center line of the supply.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an infant patient also showing a CPAP device according to an embodiment of the present invention in use.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of components of the CPAP device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 2 in an assembled condition.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken through line 4-4 in FIG. 3 of the CPAP device of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken through line 5-5 of FIG. 4, showing a cross section of the CPAP device of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a receiver portion of a CPAP device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the FIG. 6 receiver portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments provide a CPAP device and method that has reduced size, improved performance, and/or other benefits with respect to the patient. Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawing Figures in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a patient using a CPAP device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device 10 includes a generator body 12 which receives positive airflow pressure from a supply tube 14. The tube 14 is pressurized by an air pressurize device which is not illustrated. The generator body 12 also is connected to an outlet tube 15.

As will be seen in FIGS. 2 through 4, in a preferred embodiment the tubing for tubes 14 and 15 does not have a circular cross section, but rather has an oval or ellipsoid cross section. This oval cross section of the tubes 14 and 15 some times will provide a significant benefit, where used, in several respects. First, the oval tubing provides a greater volumetric area while still reducing the diameter of the tubing in one direction, and also allows for a more compact generator housing 16 as described in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 2 through 4. Second, the oval tubing has a tendency to lay flat if the patient turns his or her head and lies on the tubing. This relatively flat contact with the patient's head can be more comfortable and distribute the weight of the patient's head more evenly over the tubing as compared to circular tubing. However, some other aspects of the preferred embodiment that will be described below can still be obtained with the use of circular tubing.

FIG. 1 also illustrates, as will be seen in more detail in the subsequent Figures, that the generator body 12 includes a housing 16 (which has the inlet fitting 22 that connects to the tubing 14 and an outlet fitting 23 connected to the tubing 15) and also has an exhalation port 18 which permits outlet of the exhalation air. The housing 16 is attached to a receiver assembly 20 which includes prongs that fit into the patient's nares as will be described further below.

Turning next to FIG. 2, the housing 16 and its exhalation port 18 are illustrated. The housing 16 is essentially a rectangular box-shaped housing having the exhalation port 18, and a pair of side structures on its side ends. The side structures each form sidewalls of the generator body and have the fittings 22 and 23 that receive the tubing 14 and 15, which is preferably oval tubing, as described above.

One side of the rectangular box shape of the housing 16 is open, and is adapted to receive a receiver assembly 20 which will be described in more detail below. When the receiver 20 is mounted to close off the open end of the housing 18, a receiver cap 24 is trapped inside. The receiver 20 includes a pair of nasal prongs 26 extending therefrom as well as a pair of headgear attachment flanges 28 projecting therefrom. The receiver nasal prongs 26 may be of any suitable size and shape as is suitable for interacting with the patient's nares. In addition, the headgear attachment flanges 28 may also be of any suitable size and shape to interact with a strap type headgear or an adhesive fastening arrangement, or any other type of patient attachment system.

Another advantage of the oval tubing 14 and 15 is that the housing 18 can have a relatively compact rectangular box shape, and the tubing 14 and 15 may be arranged with its major diameter at a diagonal angle, as can be seen by the orientation of the fittings 22 and 23, thus allowing the tubing 14 and 15 to have a major diameter that is nearly as long as the diagonal length of the profile of the housing 18. This contributes to the housing 18 having a desirably compact shape.

The assembly described above may be manufactured from any suitable materials. However, in one example, the housing 18 and its fittings 22 and 23, as well as the receiver cap 24, are manufactured from a plastic, such as a polycarbonate. The receiver 20, which may include the headgear attachment flanges, and nasal prongs, may be molded from a biocompatible silicone.

Turning next to FIGS. 4 and 5, the air flow within the CPAP device is illustrated. Supply air enters the housing 16 via a fitting 22 from a pressurized source through the tubing 14. The supply air enters a supply air channel 30 which feeds two supply air nozzle jets 32. Supply air nozzle jets 32 each generally have a first cylindrical portion 34 and then transition to a slight outward taper region 35. The tapered portion 35 is an outward flared conical taper with an included angle of approximately 4 degrees between the sidewalls. This outward taper has been found to provide a venturi effect which is beneficial to the airflow.

In addition to having a 4 degree included angle in the tapered portion 35, the axial length of the portion 35 is approximately two times the starting diameter, i.e., the internal diameter of the cylindrical portion 34 of the jet 32. This taper improves the efficiency of the nozzle and reduces the pressure required to drive the generator.

The jets 32 direct air towards the receiver cap assembly 24, and more particularly to two funnel shaped receivers 38. The nasal prongs 26 then receive air directly from the receivers 38. The receivers 38 each have a conically tapered portion 39 with an inward flared cone having an included angle of 60 degrees between the sidewalls. A straight cylindrical portion 41 extends from the end of the conical portion 39.

In one preferred embodiment, a distance D from a reference line A, which is the outlet end face 36 of the jet 32 relative to reference line B, which is the end face of the conical portion of the receivers 38, has been found to be 1.8 times the internal diameter of the cylindrical portion 34 of the jets 32.

The outlet fitting 23 leads to outlet tubing by which the patient pressure can be monitored at an outlet side of the device, i.e., pressure monitoring system that is not shown.

FIG. 5 is a cross section view showing at a different angle some of the various components referred to above using the same reference numerals.

FIG. 6 depicts an embodiment of the receiver 20 which improves the resistance to exhalation by the patient. The illustrated receiver 600 has a hemispherical section 605 that is oriented at a 15 degree angle off the center line of the supply. The 15 degree angle extends towards an outlet, e.g., an exhalation port 610, providing the exhaled gas a low resistance path thereby reducing expiratory work of the patient while he or she is breathing. A receiver cap 615, a jet 620, and a supply air channel 625 are included in the receiver 600, which are similar in function to the receiver cap 24, jet 32, and supply air channel 30 of FIGS. 2-5.

It should be apparent that the FIG. 6 configuration is different from the configuration of FIG. 4, in which the receivers 38 were each provided with a conically tapered portion 39 with an inward flared cone having an included angle of 60 degrees between the sidewalls. Also in FIG. 4, a straight cylindrical portion 41 was provided to extend from the end of the conical portion 39.

Turning now to FIG. 7, FIG. 7 illustrates a computation fluid dynamic model having lines that demonstrate the design during simulated exhalation. It should be appreciated that an input portion 705 passes easily to the exhalation port 610 during an exhalation portion of a patient's breathing cycle, while a jet portion 710 passes through the jet 620 to an output portion 715 through the supply air channel 625.

As can be easily understood by the figures, all surfaces of the disclosed invention can have sharp edges removed to take advantage of the “Coanda” effect. The Coanda effect is the tendency of a moving fluid, either liquid or gas, to attach itself to a surface and flow along said surface.

As a fluid moves or flows across or along a surface, a certain amount of friction (called “skin friction”) occurs between the fluid and the surface, which can cause resistance between the fluid and the surface, causing the fluid flow to be slowed. This resistance to the flow of the fluid pulls the fluid towards the surface, causing it stick to the surface. Thus, a fluid emerging from a nozzle tends to follow a nearby curved surface—even to the point of bending around corners—if the curvature of the surface or the angle the surface makes with the stream is not too sharp. The Coanda effect was discovered in 1930 by Henri Coanda, a Romanian aircraft engineer.

The design should have no impact on the efficiency of the device to generate a stable patient pressure but should have a substantial effect on reducing the expiratory work of breathing. The expiratory work of breathing is the amount of work the patient must expend in order to exhale. It should be appreciated that this new angle provided unexpected results over the previously used angle of sixty (60) degrees, as the sixty degree angle had long been used and thought to be most favorable. Accordingly, there was a long-felt need for a configuration in which the expiratory work of breathing would be decreased, which has been addressed by embodiments of the present invention.

The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 

1. A continuous positive airway pressure system, comprising: a housing forming an airway chamber, and having an air pressure inlet and an air pressure outlet, and further defining internally a pair of tapered air supply jets; a pair of tapered air receivers each disposed coaxially with one of the air supply jets downstream of the air supply jets, and each having a taper in an opposite direction to the direction of taper of the air supply jets, each of said pair of tapered air supply jets comprising a first opening fluidly coupled with said air pressure inlet and tapering to a second opening, smaller than said first opening, wherein said second opening is downstream of said first opening; and a pair of nasal prongs downstream of the pair of tapered air receivers, wherein each receiver comprises a hemispherical section that is oriented at an angle off the center line of the supply.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the hemispherical section is oriented between an intake port and an outlet.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the angle is 15 degrees.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the air supply jets each have a portion with an outward taper in the direction of air flow.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein: the air supply jets each have a portion having a minimum internal diameter of the air supply jet, and a terminal end face; the tapered portion of the air receivers has a terminal downstream end; and a distance between the terminal end face of the air supply jets and the terminal downstream end is approximately 1.8 times the minimum internal diameter of the air supply jets.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the housing includes an inlet fitting that is adapted to receive tubing for supply air.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the inlet fitting has an oval profile and tubing has an oval cross section.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the housing has an outlet fitting that is adapted to receive tubing so that internal pressure in the chamber of the body may be measured via the outlet fitting.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the outlet fitting has an oval profile and the tubing has an oval cross section.
 10. A method of providing continuous positive airway pressure system, comprising: providing air pressure to a housing forming an airway chamber, and further defining internally a pair of tapered air supply jets, each of said pair of tapered air supply jets comprising a first opening fluidly coupled with said air pressure inlet and tapering to a second opening, smaller than said first opening, wherein said second opening is downstream of said first opening; directing air from the air jets to a pair of tapered air receivers, each disposed coaxially with one of the air supply jets downstream of the air supply jets, and each having a taper in an opposite direction to the direction of taper of the air supply jets; and directing air from the air receivers to a pair of nasal prongs downstream of the air receivers, wherein each receiver comprises a hemispherical section that is oriented at an angle off the center line of the supply.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the hemispherical section is oriented between an intake port and an outlet.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the angle is 15 degrees.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising directing air flow through a portion of the air supply jets each having an outward taper.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein: the air supply jets each have a portion having a minimum internal diameter of the air supply jet, and a terminal end face; the tapered portion of the air receivers has a terminal downstream end; and a distance between the terminal end face of the air supply jets and the terminal downstream end is approximately 1.8 times the minimum internal diameter of the air supply jets.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the housing is provided with an inlet fitting that is adapted to receive tubing for supply air.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the inlet fitting has an oval profile and the tubing has an oval cross section.
 17. The method of claim 10, wherein the housing is provided with an outlet fitting that is adapted to receive tubing so that internal pressure in the chamber of the body may be measured via, the outlet fitting.
 18. A continuous positive airway pressure system, comprising: means for defining an airway chamber, and having an air pressure inlet and an air pressure outlet, and further defining internally a pair of tapered air supply jets, each of said pair of tapered air supply jets comprising a first opening fluidly coupled with said air pressure inlet and tapering to a second opening, smaller than said first opening, wherein said second opening is downstream of said first opening; a pair of tapered air receiving means, each disposed coaxially with one of the air supply jets downstream of the air supply jets, and each having a taper in an opposite direction to the direction of taper of the air supply jets; and a pair of nasal interacting means downstream of the receiving means, wherein each receiver comprises a hemispherical section that is oriented at an angle off the center line of the supply.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the hemispherical section is oriented between an intake port and an outlet.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the angle is 15 degrees. 